Restarting life in Siheyuan

On the street, Zhu Xuefeng was riding his bike in the rain wearing a military raincoat, and many people were wading in the water barefoot, carrying their shoes. They were all going to work.

Many people were cleaning up the garbage at the entrance of the sewer in the rain to make the water drain faster, but there seemed to be no effect because the rain was too heavy.

A bus passed by, and it was as packed as a fruit can. Many people were riding bicycles. Even though the companions on the back seat tried hard to hold umbrellas, they were still soaked through.

"Hey, brother, you're here during this heavy rain."

The water on the ground was more than ten centimeters deep, but the small footboard could still run normally. Finally, I arrived at the steel rolling mill. At the door, I met Lin Yilan who was on duty. She was wearing a raincoat and clearing the sewer at the door. When she saw Zhu Xuefeng coming, she stepped forward and greeted him in a low voice.

"It's a good thing for you to be on duty these days. You don't have to go back and forth in the rain."

"I am a blessed person, aren't I? Senior brother, didn't you go out? Why are you back? It's raining so hard, why are you going to the factory instead of staying at home?"

Lin Yilan wiped her hands, took out her handkerchief from her pocket, raised her hand, hesitated for a moment, looked at her colleagues around her, and handed it over, "Wipe it first, your face is all wet."

"Come and take a look at some of the things I designed. You go ahead and do your work. If you have anything else, come back home and talk to me. If you don't wipe it off, your face will still be wet in a while."

Lin Yilan held a handkerchief and watched her senior riding his bike in. Another comrade from the security department came over with a shovel and said, "Section Chief Lin, my face is also wet. Can you wipe it for me?"

Lin Yilan picked up a handkerchief and rubbed it hard a few times, causing the team members to scream in pain. Only then did Lin Yilan feel relieved, "You dare to take advantage of me, do you want to do it again?"

"Section Chief, your strength is too great, no one can handle it, no wonder Comrade Xiao Zhu was scared away by you, haha."

"Find a fight!"

After strolling around the factory, visiting Director Ma, Director Zhang and Director Chen, and visiting Master Lu and several classmates, Zhu Xuefeng slipped into the factory office building.

"Brother Ma, is the factory manager here?"

Xiao Ma looked up, a little surprised, and asked in a low voice, "Comrade Xiao Zhu." He looked around and asked in a low voice.

"Didn't you say you were going to study abroad? Why are you still here? School hasn't started there yet?"

"How did you know?" Zhu Xuefeng had not made this news public. In the compound, only Sha Zhu's family knew about it. Unexpectedly, Xiao Ma knew about it.

"A few days ago, Secretary Chen, oh, Deputy Minister Chen came and specifically looked for Director Yang. The two chatted for a long time. I went to change the water and overheard that both leaders were very sorry. I asked, Xiao Zhu, can you still work in our factory after you return from studying abroad?"

"I have no say in this matter. If I had to choose, of course I would come back. By the way, is the factory director here?"

"Yes, yes. I just came back from a meeting. You came to say goodbye, right?"

After saying goodbye to Xiao Ma, he went straight into the factory director's office. Lao Yang was worrying about the heavy rain outside the window, and Zhu Xuefeng also walked to the window.

"Director, it's only been raining for one day and water has started to accumulate on the streets. The factory has to take some precautions. If it rains for a few more days, I think many factory buildings will be flooded." The two men looked at the heavy rain outside, and Zhu Xuefeng took advantage of the rain to speak.

"Yes, this rain is coming hard. Now the vegetable fields outside the city are all soaked. If it continues, it will be a problem. It seems that the judgment of the higher-ups is very accurate."

It turned out that the higher authorities had already reported the flood situation near the capital, and all levels of government had issued prevention requirements. After all, Baoding and Jinhai had already been affected.

Many units have received the notice and organized young and strong personnel to go to Jinhai for disaster relief. The steel rolling mill organized a team of 200 people yesterday, led by Deputy Director Liu, to rush to the scene. The organization and response speed were beyond Zhu Xuefeng's expectations. It seems that the impact of this disaster should be controllable. After all, the consequences of being prepared and not being prepared are completely different.

"Leader, it is raining so hard, we need to remind our comrades to pay attention to secondary disasters."

"What is secondary disaster?" Lao Yang was stunned. It was the first time he heard of this term.

Zhu Xuefeng realized that this term may not have a vague explanation. "How should I put it? Many natural disasters, especially those of high level and high intensity, often trigger a series of other disasters. This phenomenon is called a disaster chain. The first disaster in the disaster chain is called a primary disaster, and the disasters induced by the primary disaster are called secondary disasters."

"What is disaster chain? I don't understand. You mentioned such a long list, it's really confusing. Just tell me which ones are considered secondary disasters and what we should pay attention to?" Lao Yang was troubled by this long explanation.

"Take this heavy rain for example. If it continues, it will turn into a flood, and the factory building may be flooded, causing it to collapse, resulting in injuries, water entering the equipment and leaking electricity, causing workers to get electric shocks, and power poles collapsing, causing electricity in the water, etc. These are all considered secondary disasters."

"The more you read this book, the better. That's right, we must be on guard against these. When Deputy Director Li comes, I will have to remind him about it in our meeting, especially about electric shock. It is too dangerous if we don't remind him. All water-influent areas must be powered off."

"Deputy Director Li is back?"

"Well, he has already asked for permission. He will be back in August. He has been gone for more than a year. It is time for him to come back. We will let Lao Sun go back and continue the work. It is always better to have someone familiar with him. This project cannot be delayed any further."

Yes, Zhu Xuefeng remembered that Deputy Director Li went there around May Day last year. It has been more than a year. Li Huaide is even more restless now. Dongsheng Company got the ridiculous evidence of his behavior during the Spring Festival. Li Huaide also changed his previous non-cooperation and kept a low profile in the past few months, cooperating in all aspects. Considering that there was not even a bubble when reporting last time, Dongsheng Company just took the evidence this time but did not report it. Unexpectedly, the effect was better than reporting it.

"The group of people who went there last year will also be replaced this month, right?"

"That's right. According to Deputy Director Li's report, everything has been arranged over there. We are just waiting for people to be sent over here. We don't need to send so many people this time. Now that the workers are basically skilled, we only need a few to serve as technical support. So, do you have any friends who want to go over there?"

"Look at what you said. I want to ask for my classmate. Her boyfriend has been there for two years. They are waiting for the business. Will the accounting staff change shifts this time?"

Old Yang was also stunned. "There is such a thing. It seems that we haven't done our job carefully. According to our initial plan, the financial staff will be replaced every four years. This is really a problem. We can't always drag our little girlfriends along. Haha, what's the name of your classmate's girlfriend?"

"My classmate is Liu Ze from the third workshop, Master Lu's apprentice. His girlfriend is Guo Ting from the Finance Department. If possible, she can come back to get married, hehe." "You also have to ask for help sometimes. Liu Ze, you didn't even tell the company about this and just kept it to yourself. If you didn't tell them today, Guo Ting would have to stay there for another two or three years. Haha, okay, don't worry about it. Tell your classmate to let her girlfriend come back this month to handle the matter."

"I would like to thank the leader on behalf of Liu Ze."

Lao Yang threw a cigarette over and said, "There's nothing to thank for this. The steel mill is not a place where people are not polite."

Lin Na and Xia Yuhong followed Zhu Xuefeng in the rain to clear the accumulated water in the yard. Their house was fine as the roof had been waterproofed and the terrain was several steps higher than the yard, so there was no danger for the time being. The cellar had been sealed, so there was no problem either.

"I just don't know what's going on back home. If there's a heavy rain in the mountains, it will be troublesome."

I don’t know if Zhu Xuefeng’s prayers worked, but although it rained in his hometown, it was far less than in the western regions. The rain was pouring down, and in Shidu in the west, small torrents began to appear on the mountains, gurgling down through the cracks in the mountains.

No one notified or organized, but the people of Shidu Town, who had lived by the Juma River for generations, felt that something was wrong.

Farmers who had always depended on the weather for their livelihood instinctively sensed the danger and began to move to the homes of relatives and friends in higher places.

The real crisis is that ditches and trenches are everywhere filled and the water storage capacity of all rivers, ponds and reservoirs in the suburbs of Beijing has almost reached its limit.

It was another rainy night, and the rainfall suddenly increased. "It seems that you were right. If it rains for another day, the city will be in chaos." Lin Na looked at the heavy rain outside the window and began to worry.

The three of them took precautions again in the courtyard. Sandbags had been piled up at the gate of the courtyard to block the water. The water level on the street was already higher than in the courtyard. The sewer used for drainage was now flooding water into the courtyard. The three of them and the two old men quickly blocked the sewer with sandbags.

"Yes, the absorption of groundwater cannot keep up with the speed of rain. If this continues, many houses will be soaked, and I estimate that many older houses will collapse."

At this time, the streets of Nanluoguxiang were flooded with nearly 15 centimeters of water, and in many low-lying areas the water was more than half a meter deep. The water submerged the river. The Yu River next to Nanluoguxiang, which led to Shichahai, had disappeared. Instead, there were some large fish that had escaped from Shichahai on the streets, attracting many children to chase them in the heavy rain, and they surprisingly had a good catch.

"Xiao Ben, it's okay, but be careful not to fall into the pit by accident."

Xiao Ben was carrying a small wooden barrel, which looked like the one used to dump tuberose in the past. There were already two fish in it, both of which were not small in size, weighing at least three pounds.

"Uncle Feng, don't worry, we know exactly where the scams are and we will definitely not go there."

The shadows of a few fish appeared again on the shallow water surface of the alley, and a group of children immediately rushed to surround them. Zhu Xuefeng left with a smile. The children on vacation were very happy to encounter such a flood.

People on the streets not far away are also going door to door to remind people to be careful of house collapses. Many houses here are made of adobe, and they are extremely dangerous if they are soaked by rain. Now the adults in their families are afraid to sleep all night for fear that the walls and houses will collapse.

Director Wang appeared in the compound with a little girl and reminded everyone again to be careful. He asked the compound to arrange people to be on duty 24 hours a day and report any situation at any time to ensure personal safety.

"Godmother, why are you here?"

"The street police have all been sent out. How can I sit still with so many households? Your yard is OK, it's all made of bricks. There are mud houses outside the city that have collapsed, but fortunately no one was injured."

"You have to take care of yourself. Is everything alright at home? Do you want me to go and check on you?"

"Don't worry about it. Everything is fine at home. It is said that it will rain heavily again this time. Please be careful. I have to go to a meeting soon. I'm leaving now."

After seeing Director Wang off, I looked at the messy courtyard. Many houses in the courtyard were leaking. Except for a few families, every household had pots and pans filled with water, which had to be dumped outside the door from time to time. Fortunately, the old buildings in the courtyard had steps, so even the shortest house was not flooded.

Traffic in the city was basically paralyzed. In addition to large trucks and buses that were still traveling in the water, there were occasionally a few bicycles struggling to wade in the water on the road. Many factories in the city were flooded, but they were strictly ordered not to discharge water. They were forced to stop work, leaving only staff on duty. Lin Na and Xia Yuhong's internship units also suspended their internships, and both of them ran to the compound.

"Is everything alright at home?"

"Our family housing complex is located on high ground, and the school is also located in a good location. There is a lot of water accumulated at the school gate and on the campus. It is very troublesome to go home. I called my dad and asked him to stay at your place for a few days."

"Our house is fine, but there is water accumulation downstairs. I won't go back. My parents are leading people to drain the water to ensure production, so no one is at home."

Xia Yuhong's family has moved to the new residential area of ​​the steel rolling mill, which is full of buildings, so it's fine.

The industrial area outside Dongzhimen has an open terrain so the waterlogging is less severe than in the city. There is no restriction on drainage here, and the factories are draining as much water as possible to ensure operations can continue.

The heavy rain continued. It was already late at night. The city government was in a meeting and a young man wearing glasses was giving a report.

"The 24-hour rainfall in Laiguangying was 464 mm, more than two-thirds of the average annual rainfall. The Chaoyang District Meteorological Station monitored 404.2 mm of rainfall, and Jiuxianqiao recorded 400.7 mm. The rivers in the urban and suburban areas overflowed, and the entire line was in emergency. The water level of the moat rose rapidly and has exceeded the highest water level in history."

"According to statistics, 1.8 houses in the city and its suburbs were flooded, affecting the normal lives of more than 1.14 residents. A total of 295 factories were damaged, and 85 of them stopped production. 30 mu of land in the suburbs was flooded, 9.8 mu was affected, and the loss of vegetables was estimated to be 1 million catties and grain 1 million catties." (Quoted from the Internet)

"The situation in the suburbs is unclear now. Statistics have not been reported yet, but the estimate is not optimistic. Some mountainous areas have already seen "dragon slides." (At that time, there was no concept of "mudslides.")
The shocking figures made everyone at the venue feel heavy-hearted, especially the "Dragon Steak". This thing was too destructive, leaving ruins wherever it went, causing huge casualties and property losses.

"Also, our superiors asked us to continue sending aid personnel and supplies to Jinhai. The situation there is more difficult than ours. Many troops and schools have already set off, but there are still not enough people. This disaster is more serious than we imagined, and it is much larger than the scale of 52 and 56..."

(Jinhai City was the capital of Hebei Province during this period and was also a railway intersection area, so it must be ensured)

The next day, newspapers in the capital published a series of measures, and the entire ancient city was mobilized at once.

Seeing trucks carrying high-spirited young people lining up and rushing to Jinhai along the road that was still drivable, Zhu Xuefeng was also anxious. Why was there no news about the assault boats? Logically, there should be a batch of assault boats accompanying this time, but in the team, except for a few green iron-hulled boats, there was no sign of assault boats at all. (End of this chapter)